Apple defends itself against pricing accusations in Europe

Apple would love to charge the same price for music across all of its European iTunes Stores, according to Apple CEO Steve Jobs. He made the comments at a press conference in Berlin this morning, following the announcement of the iPhone's availability in Germany. "We think prices should be the same," Jobs told reporters. "We think anybody in Europe should buy off any store."

The comments appear to fly in the face of Apple's current pricing practices on the continent, which have been the focus of a recent European Commission investigation. The Commission accused Apple, EMI, Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, and Warner Music Group in March of engaging in unfair pricing and sales practices. The Commission said that the labels put pressure on Apple to price songs differently between different versions of the iTunes Store, which it says is a violation of European antitrust laws. Apple enforces the uneven pricing structure by requiring the use of locally-issued credit cards in each store.

Apple met with Commission officials today along with the labels (minus EMI and Warner, both of which chose not to attend the hearings) to discuss the contractual details between the companies. Apple's Eddie Cue and general counsel Donald Rosenberg allegedly stated that there was nothing in its contract with Universal that obligated it to open stores in different countries or to price things unevenly, one person present at the hearings told Reuters. The two also said that the company makes unilateral decisions in Europe, partly because doing business there is more complex than in the US.

This isn't the first time European officials have gone after Apple for anticompetitive practices. Officials in Norway spoke out against Apple's FairPlay DRM last year, but Apple was unwilling to change its practices in response Norway's objections. That disappointed Norwegian officials, and they issued Apple another deadline to make its songs interoperable between devices other than the iPod. Other consumer groups in various European countries joined in on those complaints earlier this year, with the EU Commissioner for Consumer Protection Meglena Kuneva publicly criticizing Apple for the tie-in in March.

So we have Apple telling reporters in Germany that the company wants universal pricing, while at the same time telling EU regulators that country-specific pricing is not mandated by its contracts with the record companies. Apple has to walk a fine line here, one between satisfying the concerns of the European Commission and keeping the record companies—some of whom are renegotiating their contracts with the iPod maker—happy.

Today's hearings mark just another step in the investigative process; the EC has yet to set a date by which it will render a decision.